Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has faulted the ongoing plan by some opposition leaders in the country to form a coalition to oust President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progress Congress, APC from power in 2027.
The coalition leaders include former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, former governor of Kaduna state, Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai and former governor Peter Obi of Anambra state, amongst others.
The magazine reported that Abubakar and others are behind a new political party, the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, that applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for registration last week.
Speaking on Arise News Channel’s ‘The Morning Show’ on Monday, the former Political Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the Office of the Vice President said the opposition leaders are messing up the opportunity to sack President Tinubu from office. He said the coalition leaders are very unserious, and could by their actions, return the president back to office in 2027.
He said Nigerians are not sure whether they can trust Abubakar and others, saying they have failed to show that what they are doing is in the interest of the country.
He stressed that he’s not part of the coalition contrary to speculations.
According to him, young Nigerians are being left out in the coalition talks by its promoters who he said have occupied one position or the other in the country but have no capacity to give Nigerians a better future.
“I’m just an observer who is watching with a lot of worry that an opportunity to create a strong opposition to the ruling party is being messed up by people who insist that they must be the face of that opposition,” Baba-Ahmed said.
“These are people who have been governors, vice-presidents, ministers. Some of them have contested three times for president. Now they are telling Nigerians, ‘trust us again.’ But Nigerians can see through that. They don’t represent a different future.”
“It’s the wrong approach. They meet, agree among themselves, and say, ‘We’ve decided this one will be this, and that one will be that.’ Then they invite Nigerians in. That’s not how to build a credible opposition.
“What they need is a complete departure from who they are, what they’ve done, and what they still represent. They can work behind the scenes, but new faces must emerge to give Nigerians real hope,” he said.
The magazine reported that ADA had last week applied to INEC for registration, a development that has sparked reactions among not a few Nigerians to the effect that the coalition leaders are really bracing up to challenge President Tinubu and APC in the next election.
The promoters of the new party which appointed Chief Akin A. Rickets as its Protem National Chairman said they have met the requirements to be registered by the commission, in line with Section 40 and 222 of the Constitution, Section 75 of the Electoral Act (2022) and “global democratic principles and objectives.”
The letter read in part: “Application For Registration As A Political Party.
“We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, as a political party.
“This is sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.
“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.
“The National Secretariat of the party is as stated at the bottom of the association’s letterhead used in this application.
“We have also herewith attached our logo describing in details the symbolism of our party colours and the their configuration and the corn (Maize).
“We have further attached our manifesto encompassing details of our party ideology, and our constitution providing the legal framework that defines our identity, structures and organization, regulates our affairs and guides our actions in alignment with Section 40 and 222 of the Constitution, Section 75 of the Electoral Act (2022) and global democratic principles and objectives.
“Please find attached the following documents: our party flag depicting our name, acronym and slogan, manifesto, constitution and minutes of meeting.
“While we eagerly await further action from the commission on the next step forward towards attaining our desired goal, please accept the consideration of our highest respect. Thank you yours most sincerely; Chief Akin A. Rickets, Protem National Chairman.”
ADA’s application letter, dated June 19 2025, was stamped received by INEC on June 20, 2025.
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